Tragedy at Chapel Hill
The spate of recent terrorist attacks in Western countries, including one in Sydney, followed by the storming of Charlie Hebdo offices in Paris, and now the attacks in Copenhagen this past week, have...
View ArticleUS vision for countering violent extremism
Against the backdrop of ongoing violence in Muslim countries, and the spate of recent terrorist attacks in Sydney, Ottawa, Paris and Copenhagen, the US government hosted a high-profile conference on...
View ArticleThe shrinking space for hijabi women in the West
A few days ago, while negotiating my son’s stroller through the still heavily snow-laden sidewalks of Montreal, I was for the first time subjected to a racial slur in this city, uttered by a random...
View ArticlePakistan’s inequality trap
The need for a reasonable level of social mobility, where individuals have the chance to change their social status over time, is vital to motivate people to work hard in any society. The problem of...
View ArticlePublic funding of private sector education
Contrary to repeated multilateral and national commitments to provide education for all, and despite terming education a basic human right, widespread illiteracy still remains a daunting challenge,...
View ArticleEducation and mother tongue
While there are varied implementation hurdles in trying to make the shift, our education policymakers seem adamant to adopt English as the medium of instruction across government schools in the...
View ArticleWorld water woes
Over the past several decades, ever-growing demands for water resources have increased the risks of severe water stress across many parts of the world, including Pakistan, which the Asian Development...
View ArticleAsylum trends and issues
A combination of widespread violence, deteriorating humanitarian situations and human rights abuses around the world has led to increasing number of people being forced to seek asylum across...
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Suffocating cyberspace
Pakistan hardly has an impressive record when it comes to universal human rights standards, and the formulation of a contentious Prevention of Electronic Crimes Bill 2015, which is pending...
View ArticleThe death penalty in Pakistan
The death penalty debate is currently raging in Pakistan. Although Pakistan had never abolished the death penalty, it had imposed a moratorium on executions back in 2008. The government, however,...
View ArticleUntapped utility of teacher unions
Education indisputably remains vital to improving the long-term development prospects of any country in the modern word. Despite reiterating goals of ensuring universal education, however, Pakistan...
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No country for the old
Some of the more outright atrocities against the vulnerable, such as physical or sexual incidents of violence against women or children, are often highlighted by our media. However, other vulnerable...
View ArticleDrinking water ATMs
The provision of safe drinking water is one of the most pressing needs in our country. Given that nearly 40 per cent of deaths per annum are attributed to water-borne diseases, the lack of clean...
View ArticleWomen and their work
While stories concerning the glaring gender disparities within our own country are often highlighted, such problems are not confined to our country alone. The economic discrimination against women is a...
View ArticleUneven spread of private sector education
The persistent and inter-generational nature of poverty and inequality in Pakistan is a serious concern. A recent study, jointly conducted by LUMS and Oxfam in Pakistan, has pointed out that 40 per...
View ArticleThe plight of poor Pakistani farmers
Those who claim that feudalism is no longer a reality in Pakistan should pay heed to the recently launched study by the Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (PILER) profiling the current...
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The far reaches of the Corridor
The plan to create the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a major development which has significance, not only for our own country and China, but has broader geostrategic ramifications as well....
View ArticleCountering extremism through civil society
While the US has exhausted its military commitment in the war against terror, the threat of violent extremism has not yet abated. In the attempt to further neutralise this threat, US policymakers...
View ArticleClimate-instigated instability & threats
As the death toll from the severe heatwave in Sindh kept mounting during the past week, so did political tensions and blame-shifting, including the opposition seizing the opportunity to criticise the...
View ArticleIMF’s advice for our water woes
The demand for water continues to rise with the rising global population and its corresponding consumption trends, yet freshwater resources are not so easily increased. Rising water stress, existing...
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